In 2023, South West Water paid its shareholders £23 for every hour it dumped sewage.

• This "profit from pollution" rate is based on South West Water polluting for 530,737 hours. The shareholders recieved £12.3m in dividends.
• The company is owned by Pennon Group which also owns waste and recycling company Viridor and Bournemouth Water, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
• South West Water has paid out a total of £4.5 billion in dividends since privatisation in 1989.
• Its debts have reached £3.1 billion. It was privatised with no debts.
• 14% of your bill is spent servicing South West Water's debts.

Privatisation VS Public Ownership

• England and Wales are the only countries to have fully privatised water and sewerage systems.
• Our bills have gone up by 40% in real terms since privatisation.
• Publicly owned Scottish Water has spent 35% more than the English water companies. If England had done the same an extra £28 billion would have been invested in sewage and leak prevention.
• Public ownership can make water companies more accountable. Paris Water has bill payers and sewage campaigners on its board, alongside water workers and elected councillors. In the Netherlands, water companies have to publish data on their performance

Read more at our dedicated water policy page here: https://weownit.org.uk/public-ownership/water